Happy Foxy Birthday!

It's tough finding birthday cards for anyone with a December birthday. The shops have crammed Christmas cards into every available rack, leaving you stuck unless you are (a) organised enough to buy cards in October, (b) crafty enough to appliqué 'Happy Birthday' over 'Merry Christmas' or (c) willing to buy one of those incredibly naff cards that every post office is seemingly contractually obliged to stock.

So thank goodness for Etsy - specifically, for Karolin Schnoor's range of moveable animal cards. Cut out the shapes, assemble them with the split pins provided, and ta-daaah - a cute birthday greeting that the recipient will want to keep. I adore the fox one, but it wouldn't be Domestic Sluttery if I didn't mention the owl card. At just £3.25 each plus 60p P&P, they won't break the bank - and as she's based in London, you shouldn't be waiting til next year for delivery.

Romantic Robots

"Good night, I love you..." Says Boy Robot.
"Love you too. Sleep tight..." Says Girl Robot.

And then I swoon. Because that's just the cutest thing. Little robots in love! These grey robot pillow cases from Mengsel Design on Etsy are utterly adorable. They're printed with a water-based non chemical ink, so there's no bad stuff. Just utter utter robot cuteness.

They're $44 and there's a $5 postage charge. They're absolutely the coolest pillowcases I've ever seen. Turns out that robots are cool, but romantic robots are even better.

Win! A Mr Yen Papercut

On the 10th day of Christmas, Domestic Sluttery gave to me... a pretty papercut from Mr Yen!

This is one of my favourite prizes so far. I've been coveting this papercut for a long time now and the lovely Mr Yen has been cutting and snipping away this weekend so we can give one away. I want to put coloured paper behind it, or maybe even an image of Alice in Wonderland, which would look great in the background. But it doesn't matter what I'd do with it, I have to give it away. Darn.

So what do you have to do to win? Tell us awesome things about your Christmas decorations. Do you still make paper chains? Go all out with the tree? Get a bit fairy light happy? Have you put your tree up yet?! Tell us in the comments before 8pm tonight, and we'll draw a winner at random and tell you who has won tomorrow.

Good luck everyone!

The small print (yawn): The competition will close at 8pm December 13th. This prize is only available to UK readers, sorry overseas people! You must also leave a name as well to make sure we know who you are! If you're anon your entry won't count, and they definitely won't count if you enter more than ones (we do check). We're not allowed to enter our own competitions, but Siany all about the Christmas tree baubles and picks them up whilst she's on holidays. We wish we could enter our competitions. Humph.

Etsy Pick: Tina Tarnoff

Be still my beating heart! I think I may be a little in love with Tina Tarnoff, the Etsy seller who makes these beautiful papercut pictures and then incorporates them into necklaces, earrings and brooches. And look at how perfectly they're packaged. Wouldn't you be bowled over if that landed on your doormat?

Each item is made by setting the image under a clear cabachon dome on an antiqued pendant base, and comes in a presentation gift box with a certificate of authenticity. These 'Autumn Kiss' earrings are hung on sterling silver earwires, so even if your poor little ears are of the sensitive type, you'll still be able to wear these and look wonderful. They're $45USD.

Perhaps my favourite is this stripey socks pendant on a bow-shaped brooch. It's called 'Waiting for the Phone,' but with the quirky, circus-inspired stripes make me suspect it would go down well with Alice in Wonderland fans. Again, it's $45USD.

Last but not least, there's this 'Girl on a Swing' pearl necklace, which would look make a rather elegant statement indeed worn with a black shift dress, opaque black tights and maybe some sort of black cloche hat. It's $55USD.

The Winner of the Bodie & Fou Cognac Glasses

Hooray! Friday! And one more competition winner to announce before the weekend. You guys kept entering right up to the last night, which is a good thing because our winner was the very last entry.

*Drum roll please*

Zoelee! Hooray! You've won! (With just eight minutes to spare too!) She's voting for I Wish it could be Christmas everyday (and she does indeed wish it could be Christmas everyday). And for those who need a little help getting into the Christmas spirit.



Congrats, Zoe! Just email us and tell us where to send your prize. The rest of you don't forget to enter today's competition, and of course, head over to Bodie & Fou and snap up all of their beautiful things before Christmas.

Terrific Teaspoons

I don't think I've ever gasped at a set of teaspoons before. That's not to say I haven't got excited about cutlery, but it's altogether different if it's coated in diamonds. These teaspoons aren't diamond coated, but they're very lovely. Look at those colours!

I love that these will just brighten up your normal cutlery when they're in the drawer (and it'll give me an excuse to throw out the ones with the Godawful plastic handles). The gem colours are so pretty, and very Christmassy. OK, so £25 is a lot to pay for a cutlery set, but these might be the strangest thing on my Christmas present list.

You can buy them from Bellevue Tea. You should also pick up some Breakfast Tea whilst you're there, it's my absolute favourite.

All I want for christmas: gifts for kids

There is nothing quite like seeing your small child ripping open their christmas presents to bring the joy and magic back to the festive season! Here are some of my favourite picks for all those cool kids!

Under £5

My little girl loves to play card games so I know these beautiful Vintage Snap Cards featuring classic nursery rhymes from dotcomgiftshop would go down a treat in our house. They only cost £1.95 and will make a fab little stocking filler.

Under £10

All those budding young horticulturalist out there are bound to be smitten by the i-grobot. Plus once your green-fingered little one has grown bored of cultivating their mini lawn you can steal it for you own plants! The i-growbot costs £7.50 from The Balcony Gardener.

Under £20

A perfect present for all those aspiring magicians in your life, the Ladybird Activity Kit - Tricks and Magic will furnish them with all the tools they need to astound and amaze their friends! It costs £11.95 and is available from Wild & Wolf.

Under £30

This is one time you won't despair at your kids for getting crayon all over their clothes! The Animals Colour-Me-In TShirt costs £20 from Lollipop and is also available in Floral, Squirrel and Superstar. I just wish they did them in grown up sizes too!

Under £40

The Robot Night Night Light from The Original Metal Box Company is quite simply the perfect night light, even for those slightly older kids who are obviously way too big to still be scared of the dark! It costs £32 which is surely a small prize to pay for night long robot protection.

Under £50

Inspire your child's imagination with one of the wonderful cardboard playhouses from Green Rabbit. From castles to spaceships, and igloos to tee pees, a whole world of adventure awaits! Prices start from £31.50, with the white Princess Castle pictured costing £48.50.